recipe

I posted that mini update last week and then promptly forgot about it until just now. When I came back I was greeted by three glorious comments that weren't spam involving penis size. Well, that just warms my heart!

So I will abandon Instagram and Twitter and Facebook for now and try to string together a couple coherent thoughts. No promises.

I made this and it was ridiculous. Some people would probably call a vegetarian Philly-style sandwich blasphemy, but I call it...delishphemy.

Work has slowed down a bit for me (finally), and I've been reading more and spending more time with the family (especially Greta), which has been really great. I can't bend my brain around the idea of working such crazy hours again after having this break. We shall see. I've gotten a lot of good reading in lately, but the book that has resonated with me the most recently is Eleanor and Park. It just took me back to high school and first loves and quirky friends and dysfunctional relationships.

I always think I'm not into [insert sport, game, or recreational activity]. but whenever I give it a try I seem to have fun. This past weekend I went to a craft night and I played a game and I had fun. I made a craft involving wine corks, which was sort of horrifying for me because everyone else there is either an artist or ubercrafter. I'm all shrinky dinks and construction paper they're all oil paints and clay. Anyway, after crafting we played Cards against Humanity (my first time) and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I must play it again posthaste.

On a more personal note, Pat is no longer at RIT, which is just weird. He likes his new job and I think it was a good move for him; I just miss being so connected to RIT. I have this grand plan that I will start working there in 5ish years. I am all talk, though, so we shall see. I will probably have to lay off the penis enlargement spam jokes first.

Greta is good. Man, I can't think of anything to say about Greta that doesn't sound annoying in my head....oh! Uhh, she slept in a box Saturday night. That was kind of funny. Pat had something shipped that came in basically a long, narrow Greta-shaped box. She asked if she could sleep in it some night and we said sure. It was a little too short so she had to scrunch her legs up a bit. Pat asked if she wanted him to rip off the end so she could stretch out and she thought about it for a while and then said, "No, because then I wouldn't be sleeping in a box; I'd just be sleeping on cardboard." Makes total sense!

OK my brain is oozing out of my ear at this point. Please take care, kind friends.

This week the CSA bounty was almost as exciting as last week. In our share we got kale, fresh garlic (did you know the garlic you buy at the supermarket is cured?), red and green lettuce, broccoli, more beets, cherries, and a basil plant.

With the kale and garlic, I made greens and beans. I didn't work from a recipe, but it was just a pretty traditional recipe like this one. With the lettuce I just made a bunch o' salads. With the broccoli I made a recipe called Ziti with Broccoli and Ricotta Sauce, which I've made two dozen times from a book called Quick Vegetarian Pleasures illegally reproduced here. (Since I'm an editor and a no-plagiarism ranger, I won't reprint it here, but if I link to someone else who has that's okay enough, right?) Despite what it says in this blog, our family absolutely loves this recipe. It was even tastier than usual with such fresh broccoli. I used this recipe for the beet greens, and I will say this was the first non-winner I've made so far. I made some substitutions and changes, though, so I'll blame myself rather than the recipe.

I've been good about documenting our dinners, but I've been using my phone camera, which is super low budget, I know, but whatever.

Oh! I also found a great use for the bok choy from last week. Last Thursday night I was exhausted, and Pat read my mind and picked up some takeout. He got chicken panang, and I used this fantastic recipe from Steamy Kitchen (I love this site) to make a tasty, healthy side dish.

This weekend we went to a great baby shower for cousin Rory and his super lovely wife Jennie. You may remember them from such weddings as Rory and Jennie's wedding. We all had a wonderful time, and I regret I didn't get a picture of the expecting, but look at these cute family members of mine.

We stayed at the party later than Greta's normal bedtime and she also got more sugar than she is used to, and she sort of tweaked. Hilarity ensued. I have a bunch of short movies of her drunk-tired and hopped up on sugar. Here are two. My brother Phil is not hopped up on sugar; he is always game for some fanny spinning.

This past week we got our first summer share of our CSA from The Good Food Collective. It was definitely the highlight of my week. I was so excited to get fresh organic fruits and veggies, and the bounty did not disappoint. This past week I really enjoyed meal planning for the first time in ages. I also enjoyed finding new recipes and even trying some new veggies (garlic scapes and Swiss chard) for the first time ever. In addition to the garlic scapes and Swiss chard, we got strawberries, bok choy, lettuce, and beets.

I thought I would post the links to the new recipes I tried this week. They were all winners.

In addition to throwing the garlic scapes into everything I could think of from marinades to raw in salads, I also made garlic scape pesto, which beats the pants off of basil pesto if you ask me (and I LOVE basil). I used the pesto on spaghetti, used it as sauce for a pizza, and even mixed it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make a salad dressing.

The Swiss chard recipe was amazing, but that might be because it called for white wine, butter, and cheese, and I also threw some bacon in for good measure.

We didn't have the bok choy yet, so I am currently auditioning recipes. If you have any good ones, please share.

The strawberries didn't make it into any recipes because we just stuffed them in our faces.

I can't wait for this week's share!

Friday night went to a very cool art show for a group called Sweet Meat Co. I was a little worried we'd be the old non-hipsters there with the kid, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a wide variety of people there. And Greta wasn't the only kid, even. We actually ran into at least a dozen people we know, too. Hey, we're still awesome! Good to know.

Here is Greta contemplating the art.

I wish I took some photos of show itself because it was such a cool setup, but I am terrified of getting yelled at for photographing artwork. I once got reprimanded for taking a picture of Greta in a gallery, and I was horrified. I hate getting yelled more than pretty much anything ever. Anyway, it was a great show, and you will just have to take my word for it.

Saturday Greta and I headed to my parents' house for a few hours. We were planning on going to a McCarthy family reunion, but due to a scheduling snafu, we were a day early for the reunion. Woopsie. It was actually nice to just have lunch at my parents' house and let Greta run around the yard for a bit with no agenda.

This week I've been a completely cranky stress case. I don't know what to say about that except I hope I stop soon because I am sure my family is not a fan of my mood and I can hardly stand myself.